Apply now: Security Engineer – WAF, location is Hybrid (Atlanta, GA). The start date is ASAP for this Contract-to-Hire (6 months) position.
Job Title: Security Engineer – WAF
Location-Type: Hybrid (3 Days A Week On-site - Atlanta, GA 30318)
Start Date Is: ASAP
Duration: Contract to Hire (6 Months)
W2 Pay Rate Range: $70/hr - $85/hr W2
Benefits: Eligible for Health, Dental, Vision, 401K
Not eligible for visa sponsorship
Job Description:
The Security Engineer (WAF) will play a critical role in protecting web applications and APIs by managing and optimizing Web Application Firewall protections across cloud environments. This engineer will focus on hands-on WAF operations, rule tuning, automation, and security integrations within DevSecOps environments while partnering closely with engineering, product, and security teams to strengthen the organization's application security posture.
Day-to-Day Responsibilities:
- Implement, operate, and maintain WAF protections across web applications and API environments
- Write, tune, and optimize WAF rules including custom protections, bot mitigation controls, and rate limiting policies
- Apply WAF protections to specific hosts, endpoints, and API gateways as a first line of defense during security events
- Monitor and analyze WAF logs and alerts to identify malicious activity, reduce false positives, and continuously improve security posture
- Partner with Incident Response (IR) and SOC teams to support security triage by implementing WAF-based mitigations
- Collaborate with product and engineering teams to understand application architecture and embed WAF controls into system design
- Integrate WAF protections into SDLC processes and CI/CD pipelines
- Support cloud security initiatives focused on securing the application perimeter within AWS environments
- Configure and support cloud networking components including Application Load Balancers, CloudFront distributions, and API Gateways
- Develop automation scripts and tooling (primarily Python or Go) to scale WAF operations and security processes
- Deploy and manage WAF configurations using Infrastructure as Code tools such as Terraform or CloudFormation
- Contribute to GitHub repositories supporting security tooling and configuration management
- Document operational procedures, runbooks, change management processes, and incident response playbooks
- Participate in an on-call rotation supporting production security incidents and operational needs
Requirements:
Must-Have Skills/Experiences: - 2–4 years of experience in application security, network security, or cloud security
- Hands-on experience managing Web Application Firewalls (AWS WAF strongly preferred; Cloudflare, Akamai, Fastly, Azure Front Door, or GCP Cloud Armor acceptable)
- Strong understanding of HTTP/HTTPS protocols, OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, and API security fundamentals
- Experience securing web applications and APIs within AWS cloud environments
- Foundational networking knowledge including firewall concepts and cloud perimeter security
- Experience applying WAF protections to API gateways, endpoints, and hostnames
- Experience analyzing security telemetry and logs using Splunk or similar SIEM tools
- Scripting experience with Python (preferred) and familiarity with Go, Bash, or TypeScript
- Experience deploying infrastructure and security configurations through Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, CloudFormation, or similar)
- Experience working within DevOps or DevSecOps environments
- Experience collaborating with IR and SOC teams to support incident response activities
- Ability to write, debug, and maintain automation code supporting security operations
- Strong communication skills with the ability to work cross-functionally with engineering, product, and operations teams
- Demonstrated ownership mindset with the ability to take initiatives from design through execution
- Ability to work onsite in a hybrid environment (3 days per week)
Nice-to-Have Skills/Experiences (NOT required, but a plus!) : - Experience supporting multi-cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP)
- Experience integrating WAF protections with CDN platforms
- Security certifications such as GIAC, GWAPT, CISSP, or CSSLP
- Experience within media, entertainment, telecommunications, or financial services environments
- Experience with configuration management tools such as Ansible
- Exposure to incident response processes (not required to lead incidents)
- Strong learning mindset with interest in expanding security engineering capabilities